For the first 12 years of my life, I lived on a dirt street. Trucks would periodically come by and oil it, to keep the dust down. We had ditches, a rotating assortment of broke down cars being repaired that covered both the driveway and lawn, and a couple of big trees in the front yard – the bigger one was whitewashed at the trunk. It was a working-class neighborhood; kids everywhere. Our parents would yell our names at dinnertime, or at dark, or whenever we had to come home – because we were always outside, somewhere. We lived in an 800-square foot house, which sold for 800 bucks a couple of years ago. A handful of houses down the street, running perpendicular to it, was the industry-lined C & O Railroad. Ziebart Rustproofing, Profile Steel and Wire – whose giant front lawn we used for baseball games; the signpost that read »No Ball Playing« was home plate – and further east, a sprawling 7-Up Bottling Plant. There was a pedestrian walkway between
the steel and pop factories, allowing people to walk to and from the railroad. On the other side of the tracks, the streets were paved.

Scott Hocking was born in Redford Township, Michigan in 1975 and lived and worked in Detroit proper since 1996. He creates site specific sculptural installations and photography projects, often using found materials and vacant locations.